Guatemalan ex-president Alejandro Giammattei barred from entering US

Guatemala’s President Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla, addresses a ministerial level meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

WASHINGTON/GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has been barred from entering the U.S. over allegations of "his  involvement in significant corruption," the State Department said on Wednesday.

"The State Department has credible information indicating  that Giammattei  accepted bribes in exchange for the performance of his  public functions during his tenure  as president of  Guatemala,  actions that undermined the rule of law and government transparency," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.